Senior Backend Engineer (Java)Location: Manchester, UK (Hybrid - 2 days/week on-site)Role Type: ContractAbout the RoleWe are seeking a Senior Backend Engineer to design, build, and scale resilient, high-performance distributed systems. This role is ideal for a pragmatic developer who thrives in fast-paced Agile environments, excels at navigating large existing codebases, and delivers production-ready software with minimal supervision.In this role, you will lead complex technical initiatives, influence system architecture, and leverage modern AI tooling (Claude and Codex) to accelerate delivery. You''ll work cross-functionally with product managers, frontend engineers, and platform teams while elevating code quality and mentoring fellow engineers.Core ResponsibilitiesArchitecture and API Design: Build and maintain scalable, fault-tolerant backend microservices and REST APIs.Technical Leadership: Lead medium-to-large engineering initiatives, participate in design reviews, and establish engineering best practices.System Operations and Reliability: Troubleshoot complex production issues, conduct root-cause analysis, and enhance observability, logging, and performance.Delivery and Quality: Write clean, testable Java code, conduct constructive code reviews, and drive automated testing (unit, integration, and E2E).DevOps and Collaboration: Partner with infrastructure teams to optimize CI/CD pipelines, deployment automation, and containerized deployments.What You''ll Bring ..... full job details .....